Lady Mav teams bound for softball nationals

DOVER — A pair of Lady Mavericks fast-pitch softball teams out of the USA Training Centers in Portsmouth will play in national tournaments this week.

The 18U Lady Mavs will participate in the ASA Eastern Nationals in Loudoun County, Va., while the 14U Lady Mavs will play in the Triple Crown Sports East Coast Summer Nationals in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Both tournaments runs Thursday through Sunday.

Both teams will open play Thursday. The 18U team plays the Diamond Dusters at noon, while the 14U squad meets the Davie Bandits 00, N.C., at 8 a.m.

Pool play in both tournaments will be followed by a championship round, which ends of Sunday. There are approximately 50 teams in the Class A 18U tournament, and 24 in the 14U tournament (from 13 states).

The 18U Lady Mavs earned their berth by winning the state 18U ASA championship last month in Tamworth. Last year in the 16U division, the team came in third at the Eastern Nationals.

The 14U team, which earned a perpetual berth four years ago, also qualified this year. The team has gone 42-14 in eight tournaments, winning one and placing third in four others. They were top-five in all eight tournaments, three of which were 16U tourneys.

Daudelin and Riley were on Coe-Brown’s Division II state championship team, while Schoenbucher played on Dover’s D-I title team. Colson and Stanton played for D-I runner-up Spaulding.

The 14U team features some local and some out-of-town talent from as near as Rochester and Dover, and as far away as Lawrence, Mass., and Wells, Maine. The roster has Haley White (P, SS), Kaitlyn Janos (P, 2B), Anya Chase (P, 1B), Geana Torres (C), Mackenzie Aleva (3B), Vimary Vega (SS, OF), Sydney Devogt (OF, 2B), Olivia Clay (OF) and Sarah Daniels (OF). Utility additions for this tournament are Brittani Chapman, Reilly Eddy and Olivia Bessemer.

“I expect it to be tough,” said 18U coach Paul Cormier. “You go to gain the experience. We draw from high schools who have played against each other. It’s a really good team. We’ve played quite a few showcase tournaments to give these players exposure.”

The 18U team is guaranteed four games.

The 16U team has a five-game guarantee.

“We have had the same core (of players) for three years,” said 14U coach Claudine White. “Every year there is a little bit of a change.”

White added: “We have hitters, so we should do fine. We wouldn’t make the trip if we didn’t think we could compete.”